Running With the Monster
by someonesgurl
Summary: AU. Almost half a year after being left by him, Draco goes searching for Harry. Finding him in an abandoned parking garage surround by drug users, Draco must make a decision. Is Harry worth the chance of falling back into old habits and starting to use ag
1. Chapter 1

**Running With the Monster  
**Chapter One: Help Is Around the Corner

**Disclaimer**: I do not own or claim to own Harry Potter. I'm poor, so don't sue. I can only dream that anyone in the HP universe is gay. This story is totally fictional, and my idea. But it was inspired by a scene is the television show, The 4400, and the movie, Wasted. I don't own those either. And the title and lyrics are from a song by Coldplay.

**Warnings**: This story will have slash in it. In the form of the couple: Harry and Draco. There are **VERY MANY** references to drug use in this story. It's the very bases of it. If that offends you or you feel as though you wont be able to read it, don't!

**Summary**: AU. Almost a year after graduation, Draco goes searching for Harry. When he finds him, Draco realizes that he may not be able to take the Boy-Who-Lived back. With memories over-whelming him, is Draco ready to help Harry face his demons?

**Final Note**: This is a story I'm not very sure about. I'm hoping that it does well. I will be working on it and Skirt for rest of the summer. Enjoy.

* * *

Draco Malfoy drove carefully down the street. The buildings became more and more neglected as he drove deeper into the heart of the neighborhood. He could see the silhouette of the parking garage and hoped the man he was looking for was there. 

As he parked the expensive SUV he couldn't help but search the many faces for one familiar to him. He sighed with relief when he saw the familiar black haired form hunched over a guitar, strumming out meaningless cords.

After turning off the engine and getting out, Draco grabbed the blankets and food he had brought along with him. He pressed the 'lock' button and stuffed his keys into the innermost pocket of his jacket before heading toward the familiar man.

"Leo?" Draco called out, his voice calm. When he got no response he tried again, "Harry?"

"Oh my head, just won't stop achin', I'm sat here lickin' my wounds," the voice of the dark haired man was raspy as he sang, "I'm shattered, but it really doesn't matter, cased my rescue, is gonna be here soon."

The song was a familiar one to Draco. He had heard it many times in coffee shops but it seemed to take on a new meaning as Harry sung it while sitting in the cold.

The blonde sat next to the scraggly looking man cautiously. He wasn't sure if the seat, which looked like it had been taken from an old vehicle of some sort, could withstand the extra weight.

Harry knew he should be shocked at Draco's presence but couldn't bring himself to be. He knew that once he fell from grace in the wizarding world that someone would have to take his place. It was ironic though that his schoolyard enemy would grow a hero complex.

"I don't know why you are here," Harry mumbled as he snuggled into the blankets Draco draped around him.

"I'm not quite sure either. But I am and I come bearing food, drinks, and warm blankets," Draco replied, shocked when Harry nestled closely to him.

"Just hold me for a few minutes," Harry murmured, eyes falling shut.

Draco tightened his embrace on the fallen hero. Looking around at the shallow faces of the others around them, he could only wonder how Harry fell this far. He pushed a few stray locks behind the other man's ear, noticing how innocent he looked while relaxed.

Watching the fire in front of them, Draco let his mind wonder to how he found himself in this position.

**Thirteen Months Prior**

Draco walked into the lavatory, expecting it to be empty because most students didn't like the dampness of the dungeons, but he could see feet covered in worn sneakers in one of the stalls.

He moved to do his business, trying to ignore the sniffling sounds. He could hear the distinct sound of something tapping on glass and found himself curious as to what the unknown party was doing in the stall.

After a few moments the stall door opened and a very familiar individual exited from it. Draco felt a smirk make its way to his face, "Potter, fancy meeting you here in the dungeons."

"Bugger off Malfoy," Harry replied, moving to the sink. Cupping some of the water in his hands, he brought it to his face to rinse out his mouth.

"I'm being serious Potter. What are you doing in the dungeon lav?"

Harry scoffed, still sniffling slightly, "And I'm being serious Malfoy. Why do you care what lavatory I use?"

"I just feel the need to point out that all your 'Do-Gooder' friends would never be caught down here."

"Yeah, well, who really cares about them either?" Harry questioned, not really looking at Draco, but at his own reflection in the mirror.

"I would think that you do. Considering the fact that they are your friends."

"Well you think wrong. Maybe it's escaped your notice but I don't exactly hang around with the 'Do-Gooders' anymore," Harry stated, rubbing his nose with the sleeve of his hooded sweater. He turned away from the mirror and started towards the door.

Draco watched the teen turn away. He had noticed that Harry had stopped hanging out with his normal friends and that said teen seemed to spend more time with some Slytherin acquaintances.

Harry moved quickly through the corridor. He was relieved that it was the weekend. It meant no classes to worry about.

Thinking back on the confrontation with Draco in the dungeons, Harry wondered if maybe the blonde knew what he was doing in the stall. He wondered if the blonde knew what it felt like to know the monster.

The monster, that's what Harry liked to call it. The monster called to him most of the time. And when it called, he had no choice but to answer, to go to the nearest lavatory or closet and hurry through the movements.

Harry could still remember his first run in with the monster. He was at a party over the summer and someone offered it to him. At the time Harry was depressed and needed to opportunity to forget about everything that was going on around him. And the monster seemed like the perfect solution.

He had never met anyone that died from the monster, but he knew that there was a change that he could. He knew that if he did too much or not enough or did anything wrong that he might not make it down.

Sometimes when he was in the tower he wasn't allowed to get the monster out. He knew that his fellow house-mates wouldn't know what to think. So the monster wasn't allowed in the tower.

And Harry hated it.

He moved outside and towards a secluded area far from the football game Dean was trying to coach and the series of couples that surrounded the lake. Taking a seat and letting his head fall back, he allowed himself to feel the monster moving through his veins.

"Thank Merlin," he whispered. The feeling that spread through him was wonderful.

Draco watched Harry from where he stood not four meters away. He could only imagine what was going through his rival's head.

Resolving to find out, he walked towards the lone teen and sat beside him in the shade. He waited to be acknowledged.

Harry sensed the presence before he heard it. He could tell who it was by the scent. He felt the heat pass between them. It was one of the warmer days there had been lately.

After a many silent minutes had passed he couldn't take it anymore. With the monster controlling him he started talking, "She would call me 'Leo', you know? She being my mum. She wrote me a letter that got sent to me on my birthday this year, It started out 'My Dearest Leo'. At first I didn't understand. I wondered if the letter got sent to the wrong person. But as I read on, she explained why she called me Leo. I never had a real nickname. Well aside from the one that you and your cronies gave me."

Draco couldn't imagine not having a nickname. He had many, most given to him by his dorm-mates, some by his family. He tuned back into Harry's rambling.

"My 'friends' as you like to call them aren't too happy with me, you know? They are actually quite angry with me. I defeated Tom and now I get thrown away," Harry kept his eyes closed, but his hands moved on the own accord, plucking cords on an invisible guitar, "Which explains how I got to where I am now. How I became friends with the monster. I don't pay for it using my parents' fortune. No, I could never do that. Do you want to know how I pay for it?"

Draco wasn't sure what the monster was, but he was sure that if he felt the need to find out, he would only have to ask one of his mates. And if one of his mates was supplying it, he could certainly guess how Harry was paying for it.

"It's not such a bad thing. I think that it may mess up my magic eventually. I'm not sure. But I don't think that it matters now. I mean I've completed my destiny. I'm just here on borrowed time now. It doesn't matter much anymore," Harry felt the need to conjure up his guitar, but was unsure as to weather or not he would be able to get it to him in one piece.

Draco watched as emotions played on Harry's face and felt his heart go out to the other teen.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with myself after I graduate. I have enough money from the Ministry to live my life without ever working a day," Harry moved to where he was laying on the ground, his head turned and staring at the lake, "I don't think that I will live past the end of the year. I'm not sure if I want to."

**Present**

School ended less than two months later and Draco lost contact with Harry. But he did find out what the monster was.

He had been at his friend, Blaise's, house for a party. When he entered the restroom to relieve himself, he found three people in there. One asked him if he would like to take the monster for a ride.

He had already been with the monster, plenty times growing up. He could only wonder why Harry would get caught up in games with the monster.

But at the moment he wasn't worried about why Harry met said drug. He sighed as he felt the body next to him tense up, and was soon ripped from his grasp.

Harry started trying to free his body from the hold that his captor had on his but froze as the voice rang out, "What do you think you are doing, Arie?"

"He's just an old school mate, Caleb," Harry soon molded himself to Caleb's side, "He brought something for us to eat and drink. He also brought some blankets."

Caleb looked to where Harry was pointing and saw the items, "That doesn't explain why you were all over him."

Draco saw the bruising grip the bigger man had on Harry and decided to intervene, "I just found out my mum had died. Arie had told me long ago that if I ever needed someone to talk to that he was available. I came looking for him."

Caleb seemed to think this over and Harry watched with apprehension in his eyes. It was a long moment before the big brute said, "You need to leave. And if I ever find you around here again, you won't be so lucky."

Draco nodded before turning away from the site. Harry was turned and whispering into Caleb's ear.

He walked calmly back to his SUV and got in. He watched the forms that he knew were Harry and Caleb. Caleb had wrapped his arms around Harry in a hold that could only be described as possessive and Harry had bowed his head in a submissive form, still mumbling. Something he said must have made Caleb happy because a big smile broke out over the man's face and he led Harry away.

Draco drove back to his loft in silence. He tried not to think about what he had witnessed and the pain he felt when Harry was taken from his arms. After turning on the lights he closed the door firmly behind him and leaned against it.

He could see the light on his answering machine blinking. He sighed before pushing away from the metal door. Pressing the play button on the machine before moving to the kitchen, the background sounds of a busy street soon filled the loft.

"I don't know where you are but you better call me as soon as you get this message! You were supposed to be here at four to pick me up you arrogant git! Now I'm stuck here! Call me!"

Draco almost wanted to slap himself for forgetting to go pick up his neighbor from the airport. He hurriedly dialed her number on his cell before pressing the send button.

"I'm going to kill you Draco Malfoy!" came and aggravated voice of Tayla Benson.

"I know you are," Draco replied calmly, "I'm really sorry for forgetting."

"What were you doing?" Tayla asked, "I need to know your excuse before I tell you it wasn't good enough."

"I was visiting a friend."

"What friend?" Tayla's voice was wary, like she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"You know what friend," sighed Draco, defeated. Tayla was a counselor at a rehab clinic. That's how she met Draco. He was a patient there.

"I can't believe you! Do you know what that could do to your recovery?" Tayla's voice was outraged.

"I can't just leave him there! He might die!"

"Like he left you?" her voice was calm once more, "Was he alright?"

"As if you truly care, he looked bad. He's either trying to stop and suffering from withdraw or he is higher then he ever was," Draco replied. He moved through the kitchen and into the living room taking a seat on one of the couches. He turned on the news and muted it.

"I somehow doubt that he is trying to stop. Not with where he is living." Tayla stated quietly.

"There was a guy…" Draco's voice trailed off, "He was controlling of him, like he owned him or something."

"He just might. You know how it goes on the streets. Especially with those that are addicted to the monster."

"Yeah, I do know. I dealt with it," there was sadness in Draco's voice that would have been apparent to anyone.

"I know you have. And that's why you need to move on with your life and forget him," Tayla made a full circle with her argument.

"It's not that easy and you know it! We went through it together. And I need to get him out of there," Draco replied, determination covering the sadness.

"Sometimes it doesn't work that way," Tayla reminded him.

Draco sighed once more, looking out over the darkening city through his large windows, "It will this time."

"Let's meet tomorrow morning for coffee," Tayla stated, changing the subject quickly.

"Sure," Draco replied. The two friends talked for a few more minutes before hanging up.

Draco left the television on as he went into the bathroom to take a shower. He found himself singing the song that Harry had sung earlier in the night, feeling depression grip onto him.

He climbed into his big bed, twisting and turning until he was in a comfortable enough position to fall into sleep.

His dreams were plagued with memories of the month him and Harry had spent deep in drug induced states. Them attempting to purchase an apartment but getting refused by every place they looked at. Them both sharing their secrets about growing up and what caused them to decide to meet the monster.

The time that they tried to get clean played over and over again. The feeling of loss that over took him and caused him to beg for it all back. They both barely lasted a week without it.

Then there were memories of the first time he had used a needle to get the monster into him, the rush to the hospital after. He could still feel Harry's hands on his face and in his hair, murmuring about how sorry he was for being Draco into it all.

Draco remembered the moment that Harry walked away. The pain he felt in his heart was worse then anything the monster could bring along, worse then the pain of coming completely clean. He could still picture Harry exactly how he looked the moment he walked away. And it hurt, badly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Running With the Monster  
**Chapter Two: Dear Jamie…Sincerely Me

**Disclaimer**: I do not own or claim to own Harry Potter. I'm poor, so don't sue. I can only dream that anyone in the HP universe is gay. This story is totally fictional, and my idea. But it was inspired by a scene is the television show, The 4400, and the movie, Wasted. I don't own those either. And the title is a song by Hellogoodbye.

**Warnings**: This story will have slash in it. In the form of the couple: Harry and Draco. There are **VERY MANY** references to drug use and abuse in this story. It's the very bases of it. If that offends you or you feel as though you wont be able to read it, don't!

**Summary**: AU. Almost a year after graduation, Draco goes searching for Harry. When he finds him, Draco realizes that he may not be able to take the Boy-Who-Lived back. With memories over-whelming him, is Draco ready to help Harry face his demons?

**Final** Note: Yeah…I'm sorry. So, I'm sorry. I know that some people enjoyed the first chapter of this story so much. And I never wrote another chapter. I'm sorry. Like real bad sorry.

* * *

The only things Draco had to ensure him that his two months with Harry actually happened were fuzzy memories and a couple moving photographs.

He wasn't exactly sure how he got the photographs. One day they were in his post and he could never trace it back to the sender.

He had to stay at the hospital for over a week. And after that he checked into a residential rehab clinic.

Until the point of actually getting out of the clinic he had the bruises. There was the set on his hips which were undoubtedly put there by Harry's hands. Also there was a set around his arm that he knew was put there on the way to the hospital that night.

But the bruises faded and Draco was sure that Harry's memory of him did also.

Yet he could never get the other man out of his mind.

Harry always seemed to lurk in the background of his mind, spouting off random things once a while that seemed to always make Draco smile.

But the Harry in his mind was no consolation for the pain he felt when the monster was leaving him. For the loneliness of the barren room in which he forced himself to stay in for twenty-eight long days.

The next morning Draco awoke with a start. He sat up in his bed abruptly and looked around frantically for whatever had woken him up.

But the room was empty.

He looked at the window, watching as the rays of light illuminated the entire room. He had chosen to paint the room yellow. The brightness of it was able to put him in a good mood, even after the worst of nightmares.

"I'm becoming some kind of Hufflepuff," he muttered to himself before getting out of the bed and going to the bathroom to get ready for his coffee date with Tayla.

He walked into the kitchen, his trousers unbuttoned and pulling a shirt over his head. He wasn't surprised to hear the familiar sound of someone moving around. He could already feel himself getting stuck in the shirt. He stopped walking and took a few deep breaths, trying to stave off the panic attack. Cold hands grazed his arms and he was soon looking into the smiling face of Tayla.

"There you go love," she stated, before turning back and re-entering the kitchen. Draco followed her, buttoning his pants up.

"Are we having coffee here then?" he questioned as he watched her busy herself with the coffee maker.

"No, we are still going out. But I know we both need some caffeine in our bodies before we'll be worth anything. So I let myself in to make us some."

Draco knew she was right and took the mug she put into his hands. He lifted the mug to his face and inhaled the strong smell before taking a small sip of the coffee. He let the warmth enter his body, giving a sigh of relief as the last few remains of the panic attack were driven away.

The two friends sat in silence. Both drinking their coffee and thinking about very different subjects. Soon they were headed out the door and towards a café not far from Draco's flat.

"Maybe you should give him the letter?" Tayla insisted as they sat in a booth.

"No. Inside that envelope is my heart. I'm not going to send it to him. At least not while he's there, not while he's still running with the monster," Draco replied vehemently. His gaze wandered to the window as Tayla started to say something else.

"You should really give him the letter Draco. Maybe it'll make you feel better. Maybe it will turn him around."

"I'm not going to give him that letter based on a bunch of maybe's. It may cause something to happen to him. And I'm not going to let that happen. Not to the one guy I ever loved," Draco answered, "Not now. Not unless I'm there with him when he opens it."

"Why'd you go to him last night?"

Draco's gaze shifted to her abruptly, "It would have been our one year anniversary. And for it, he was in the arms of another guy."

"You can't change the past Draco. You can't change what has already happened. All you can do is look towards the future and change what you are going to do. The only thing that you can control is yourself," Tayla stated, touching his hand, "You need to do whatever you need to make yourself happy. But don't risk all that you've gained to get him back. Don't risk falling back into that trap, Draco."

"I'm not going to relapse," Draco replied automatically. The two of them finished their coffee, talking about nothing important before heading their separate ways.

Draco entered his flat. Taking off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack, he could hear noise from the living room. He felt his heartbeat start to race and opened the entryway closet, pulling a baseball bat out of it before closing the door softly.

He made his way towards the living room quietly, trying to figure out who it was. He knew it wasn't Tayla, because she had to work that day. Blaise and Pansy were in America for some reason or another. And that left none of his spare keys unaccounted for.

Peeking through the doorway to the living room, he was shocked to see a dark-haired, lithe form curled up on his couch. The person was asleep and covered in a blanket. The one arm that was over the blanket was covered in bruises and scratches.

Draco dropped the bat, and was thankful for the carpeted floor of the living room. His mind was whirling with the thought of Harry being in his apartment. He didn't think about the fact that the man had gotten in without a key or even the fact the man knew where he lived.

Watching the rise and fall of the sleeping man's chest, he was startled when the man sat up abruptly and started having a coughing fit. He stood where he was, watching the coughs wrack through the skinny form.

"I certainly didn't expect you to be here when I got back from coffee," Draco stated when the coughing subsided.

"I've been trying to quit. Caleb's been trying to pull me back in. When you came last night, it as like a match. Everything blew up," Harry replied, his voice was scratchy and Draco was sure that he was suffering from more than just withdrawals.

"Maybe you should check into a clinic."

Harry looked at him, his gaze intense, "They'll expect me to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it."

"I can't handle you here, Harry. If you go to the clinic I'll visit you all the time. But I can't let you stay here. Not until you are clean," Draco replied. He glanced over at the picture of him and Harry he had hanging on the wall.

Harry got up form the couch, moving to where Draco was standing. He brought his hand up to cup the pale cheek, rubbing it softly with calloused fingers. He leaned forward, but moved his mouth to Draco's ear, "I love you," he whispered. Draco didn't get a chance to reply, Harry disapparated seconds later.

Draco didn't move for many moments, he lifted his hand to his cheek, disbelievingly. He was soon shaken out of his ravine when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Draco! Are you coming into work today?"

Draco let out a sigh of relief, "Yes, of course."

"Do you think you could come in and take over Millie's shift? She's feeling ill and I can't find anyone else to take over for her."

"Yeah. I'll be there in a bit," he replied, already moving out the door, pulling his jacket on along the way.

"Thanks darling."

When the dial tone sounded he hung up the phone and put it into his pocket. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself as he made his way down the street once more.

By the time he had reached the large restaurant he worked at, Draco was calm once more. He entered through the employee's door, smiling to those that were taking their break outside to have a cigarette.

"How did they convince you to come in three hours early Drake?" asked one of his co-workers, surprisingly an ex-Gryffindor, Seamus Finnigan.

"Millie is sick and no one else will cover for her. I need the hours anyways," Draco replied.

"You need the hours?" Seamus raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Okay, so I need the distraction from my life right now. What better way than coming to work?" Draco retorted.

"I guess you're right."

"You know I am."

Draco pulled off his jacket, putting it into his locker, then pulling out his apron and tying it around his waist.

"Are there any parties right now?" he asked, as he put straightened the pens and such that were in his pockets.

"Not right now. But there is on in about an hour. And there are a few of our old classmates in Millie's section," Seamus answered, a look crossing his face.

"Oh joy," Draco replied, sarcasm dripping from his words. He clocked himself in as he walked out of the room.

His boss came over to him and told him what section he was taking over and pointed him in the right direction.

"Hi. My name's Draco and I'll be taking over as your server for the evening," he introduced himself when he reached the first table.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen," came the smug voice of one of the patrons at the table. Draco would know the voice of the weasel anywhere.

"Have you made a decision on what you want or would you like a few more moments?"

"We've made our decision," came the curt reply of the other patron, it was the voice of the know-it-all, "I'd like the chicken breast with the salad and steamed vegetables."

"And I'd like the sixteen ounce steak, medium rare, with the salad and baked potato."

Draco wrote both orders on his pad, taking the menus after he finished, he looked at both of them, asking, "Would you like me to pour some more wine for you?"

"Yes, thanks," Granger replied, handing her glass to him. Draco poured the wine with expert ease, a smile coming to his face when he remembered his first time.

"And you sir?" Draco asked, holding his hand out for the red-haired man's glass.

"Not right now, thank you," the other man replied, a scowl settling into his features.

"I'll have your salads right out," Draco stated before moving to put the order in.

Moving on to the next table, a group of elderly ladies, he put on his flirtatious face and got ready for the comments he was sure to receive. He knew this group well, "Ladies! What are you doing here so early on a Tuesday? You all know that I don't work until late on Tuesdays."

"Something just told me to come early today," the oldest of the ladies stated.

"You mean Izzie called to tell you that I'd be coming in early, and that you should to?"

"I don't know who this 'Izzie' girl you speak of is," one of the other two ladies replied.

"Who is she? We must meet her and become best friends is she is willing to tell us when you are on shift!" the last lady stated.

Draco laughed at their antics, taking their order. He grabbed Granger and Weasley's salads, and made his way back to their table.

"Here you are ma'am," he stated, placing Granger's in front of her. He sat Weasley's in front of him, "And sir," he took a step back, "Can I get you anything else?"

"No thank you," both replied.

Draco nodded his head before moving away from the tables. Millie's section hardly ever had more than four tables because the girl was prone to being forgetful. She was kept on staff because of her people skills.

Draco stood behind the bar waiting for his meals to be ready to be delivered. It was going to be a long night and he hoped that the weasel wouldn't do anything stupid.

When their meals were ready he took them to his two former classmates. He set Granger's in front of her first and than gave Weasley his. He was shocked when a freckled hand wrapped around his wrist, "Where's Harry?"

"Unhand me sir," Draco stated through clenched teeth. His heartbeat started racing.

"No until you tell me what you did with Harry," the youngest Weasley son stated.

"If you don't unhand me this instant, you will be escorted from the restaurant," Draco informed the irate red-head.

This had to have been building up all evening. Draco had made sure to be as kind as he could to the couple in hopes of nothing like this happening. He waited for the red-head to let go, but the man's grip just got tighter.

"You'll tell me what you did with my best friend if you know what's good for you. Or would you like fore me to tell the owner of this place what kind of person you really are?"

"Draco, is everything alright?" Brutus Jones, mostly called Brutal by the restaurant staff, asked Draco as he arrived next to the table.

Draco turned his grey eyes away from the weasel and looked at Brutal. He knew the moment at which Weasley had too, because the red-head dropped the other man's wrist, "Everything is fine."

"Okay, Drake. You know where to find me if you need me."

"Thank you, Brutus," Draco replied with a comforting smile. He watched the man retreat before turning to the couple at the table in front of him, "I haven't talked to Harry Potter since he left me at the hospital a few months ago. I have a job I need to get to, so if you are finished harassing me sir, I'd like to get back to work?"

Weasley nodded and Draco scoffed at the couple before walking towards the table where the older ladies were sitting. He needed someone to help him calm down. He felt the beginnings of a panic attack reaching to grab him.

The rest of the evening went quickly. Granger and Weasley left him and big tip, as had many of the other tables he waited on. He clocked out after he placed his apron back into his locker.

The walk home was comforting. He and Seamus walked together because they lived on the same street. They mainly talked about football, who was going to win the World Cup, or American politics, if the Americans would ever do something about the President Bush.

Tonight though, the topic strayed to more personal subjects. Seamus broke the silence, "I have the really bad attacks sometimes. My hands shake like I'm going through it all over again."

"I have panic attacks. I start to hyperventilate and it just feels like I won't ever stop. I've had about four in the past day," Draco pushed his hands deeper into his coat pockets. Only Tayla knew about the panic attacks.

"That's bound to be unhealthy. I would say that you should get something, but no one would subscribe a recovering addict anything."

"What are you going to do this weekend? Isn't your and Dean's anniversary coming up?" Draco questioned. The couple had been together since fifth year and Draco remembered Seamus saying something about it earlier in the week.

"Yeah, it's Friday. I'm taking him to the country. I've been saving up for a while for this. Got him a ring and everything," Seamus replied.

Draco felt a smile creeping onto his face, "Congratulations."

"Thanks mate," Seamus replied.

The conversation turned to football and both were arguing for their favorite teams when the arrived in front of Draco's apartment building.

"Later mate," Draco stated, bounding up the steps.

"See you," Seamus called out, hurrying down the street.

Draco let himself into his apartment, half expecting Harry to be there again, but the dark-haired man wasn't. Draco wasn't sure if the sigh he gave was of relief or disappointment.


End file.
